In the pic which follows Zac Efron as the notorious serial killer, Hetfield will play Officer Bob Hayward, a no-nonsense Utah highway patrol veteran who was the first law enforcement officer to arrest Bundy in 1975 after pulling the killer over and discovering burglary tools in his car, but wisely suspecting much worse. While Hetfield has played himself in other films and television productions, this will be his first dramatic role taking on a different character.

Extremely Wicked reteams Oscar-nominated director Joe Berlinger with Hetfield: The former directed and produced the seminal rock-doc Metallica: Some Kind of Monster along with the late Bruce Sinofsky. Berlinger also penned a book about his experiences with the band, Metallica: This Monster Lives .

“Having spent hundreds of hours behind the scenes with James and the rest of Metallica, I have experienced his charisma and powerful presence close up,” says director Joe Berlinger in a statement. “It seemed only natural that he would bring that same power and magnetism to a dramatic role, so when he agreed to my pitch that he be in the movie, I was thrilled.”

Michael Werwie, who won the Nicholl Fellowship first prize and was featured on the Black List, is writing the original screenplay for Extremely Wicked. Ara Keshishian and Nicolas Chartier are producing for Voltage Pictures. Michael Costigan is producing for COTA Entertainment. Michael Simkin is producing for Efron’s Ninjas Runnin Wild Productions. Voltage is fully financing with Jonathan Deckter and Ninjas Runnin Wild’s Jason Barrett as executive producers.